While I’m away on my imaginary vacation, I’m leaving the pantry stocked with posts from Exit 51 that would have been part of the Flashback Friday series. The following originally appeared on 7/8/09 at Exit 51.

Alton Brown’s Ginger Glazed Carrots

It should come as no surprise that I plan out meals in advance. When I do my planning, I try use a Garanimals approach. Remember Garanimals? The line of children’s clothing, originally from the 70’s, designed to let kids put together coordinated outfits. From their website:

“The kid-friendly Garanimals mix-and-match separates provide a simple, coordinated system that makes clothes easy to pair and fun to wear. The Garanimals pairing system brings creativity and independence to young children as they select their own clothes and dress themselves. Through these small, successful decisions, children develop early feelings of self-confidence.”

That is so what cooking should be. Easy, fun, and confidence building. Which is why I totally think of recipes as separates, that when combined, make a coordinated outfit on the plate.

When I was trying to decide what to pair with the Chicken with Lime Butter, I went into my recipe closet and came out with Alton Brown’s Ginger Glazed Carrots. Lime and ginger is a classic combination. The heat of the ginger perfectly compliments the tart of the lime. And if you get a head start on the carrots and get them simmering while you prep your chicken, both dishes are done at about the same time.

Instead of ginger ale, I used ginger beer. It’s less sweet and has more of that lovely ginger heat. I’m pretty happy with the substitution and think that in the spirit of bringing creativity and independence to cooking, it would get the Garanimals seal of approval.

Ginger Glazed Carrots

Adapted from Alton Brown

BAH Note: The only change I would make to this recipe is to use slightly less liquid, maybe 3/4 cup. It took a while for the liquid to cook down into the glaze and I was concerned it would burn. So my carrots were a little more on the saucy side. Which is not to say that they didn’t taste goooooood.

1 pound carrots, peeled and cut (I used baby carrots)

2 tablespoons butter

kosher salt

1 cup ginger ale (If you can get ginger beer, I definitely recommend using it)

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Combine the carrots, butter, a pinch of salt, and ginger ale in a 12 inch skilled over medium heat. Cover and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, remove the lid, stir, and reduce heat to low. Return the cover cook for 5 minutes more. Remove the lid, add chili powder, and increase heat to high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the ginger ale is reduced to a glaze, approximately 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Anna, did you have Garanimals in Australia? I don’t know if they were just a US thing. But I did notice last summer that children in Europe have a great unique style. So much more interesting than here.

These glazed carrots are wonderful. I think the ginger beer makes them very special.

I love that this recipe makes little ole carrots more interesting, especially because it contains ginger. I love the heat of ginger – I’ve been snacking on candied ginger these days – but I’ve never had a ginger beer. I’ll have to add that to my list of foods to try!